SAN FRANCISCO�Verizon Wireless has negotiated the right to place small cells on 400 San Francisco light poles and utility poles according torcrwireless.com.� �February of 2016 represents a deadline of sorts because San Francisco expects a million visitors for the next Super Bowl. �
�What�s unique to this deployment for us is that it�s going be a C-RAN-type configuration.� Our baseband units, or the �brains� of our network, will be remotely housed in hub locations and we use dark fiber to connect out to the city � poles on the streets. �That really allows us to minimize how much equipment we put on the poles, which was kind of a requirement from � the planning department,� said Jake Hamilton, engineering director for Verizon Wireless� Northern California region.
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Let�s take a moment to discuss what a �C-RAN� is.� Take a look at this diagram from Airvana.com.�
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Each pole will support two Ericsson micro radio units and one small antenna measuring roughly 2 feet by 15 inches. �One radio will support the Verizon Wireless 1.7/2.1 GHz band, and the other will support the 1.9 GHz band. �The power is 5 watts per channel.
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�We targeted San Francisco because it is � one of the premiere markets in terms of growth, economic development and the number of millennials living here,� said Hamilton. �We�ve seen traffic doubling year over year so it�s something that we�ve definitely got to stay ahead of, and this will allow us to do so, at least in San Francisco.�
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